If I Love You, Is That a Fact or a Weapon?
by seh28
Summary: One shot. Post episode 1x09, The Truth Will Out. Danny visits Lacey at her house to talk about their break up and relationship.


**Author's Note:**

**This takes place after Lacey breaks up with Danny in episode 1x09, The Truth Will Out. So subsequently, there is no sex tape scandal (or sex tape at all, although for the purposes of this story, they have had sex), no expulsion hearing for Danny, and no Jo love reveal. I'm essentially doing away with the tenth episode all together (wouldn't it be grand if we could do that in real life?) This piece is also incredibly angsty (can I write anything else? I'd venture to say probably not). So please be aware. Also, reviews are fantastic to read, so let me know what you think! :)**

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Lacey could feel herself in that fuzzy space between asleep and awake. The space where your consciousness is trying to peek through, but sleep's still got a pretty good grip on your mind and body. She felt herself shift lightly on her bed, figuring it would either make her more comfortable and enable her to drift back to sleep, or allow her to fully wake and open her eyes. It seems the latter won that battle, as her eyelids fluttered open. She was discombobulated and groggy, as she sometimes was after unexpected naps, but not so much that she didn't immediately get the sense that something was off about her surroundings.

Something was definitely not how it was when she had fallen asleep.

Lacey cranked her neck and her eyes opened wider, as she spanned the length of her room quickly. When her eyes met the dark outline of his figure, standing in front of her dresser, she almost jumped straight out of her bed. Instead, she felt herself gasp in the air near her mouth as her hand instinctively went up to her neck.

"Ah," Lacey let out, her voice displaying her fright, as she quickly tried to get her nerves back in line. Oddly enough when she saw him, her fear turned to relief. She was almost certain that wasn't the proper reaction she was meant to have. "You scared the crap out of me!"

"I didn't want to wake you," Danny explained gently, the look on his face a bit uncertain and meek.

"So you thought standing there watching me sleep was a better alternative?" Lacey questioned a bit harshly, as she sat up more in her bed. Her relief morphed into aggravation as she remembered the current state of their dynamic. She'd be lying if she didn't admit to herself that she was happy to see him, but also a bit worried. He had completely caught her off guard, and her defences weren't bound as tightly as they normally were. She'd have to rearrange them quickly for whatever this conversation was going to entail.

Danny just shrugged slightly, only one of his shoulders actually illustrating the action. He watched her carefully in silence, as he thought how those ten minutes that she was sleeping, were the most peaceful and reassuring moments he had spent in her presence in the last 10 days. Even if he had meant to wake her, it would have punctured those minutes of serenity, where their two bodies existed in the same space agreeably.

Because he knew now that she was awake, things would definitely shift.

"What part of 'we're done' was unclear to you?" Lacey asked pointedly, as she noted the silent way he was assessing her. Almost as if he was anticipated something specific. The concentration in his gaze tempted to throw her off her point. But then again, his eyes usually had that effect on her.

"The whole thing." Danny offered matter a factly. At first, he feared it would come off with the same type of patented wit and charm that didn't work on her. The type that either made her start cussing him out or leave the room. Though, she didn't do either. She held his gaze and let the silence settle between the four walls that held them.

"Why are you here, Danny?" Lacey inquired curiously, as she continued to study his frame. She would have been dishonest if she tried to assert that she didn't miss him. The simple things about him. The pleasure of his company. The way he smelled. The silly jokes he'd try to pull off. How attentive he was to her. If she was being brutally forthcoming with herself, she missed it all. All those things and so much more. But her inner sentimentality wouldn't trump a greater need within her.

"Because I had to talk to you." Danny explained easily. He was almost positive that his eyes accented the word 'you', just as his voice had.

"You could have used the phone," Lacey asserted, as she ran her hand through her hair absentmindedly. She already felt like this conversation wasn't going in a good direction.

"I had to see you." Danny stated rather plainly, almost as if had that been the last thing he said in that moment, then it would be sufficient.

Lacey searched her mind rather fleetingly for a response to that, but she came up empty-handed. Instead she felt the silence galloping and ballooning around them. Silence and whatever intangible entity that was always present whenever they were in the same room. If only she could call it by name, everything about it escaped her.

"You really shouldn't be here," Lacey spoke after a moment, breaking their eye contact as she distractedly scanned her room. She suddenly remembered that her mother and Clara were at a gymnastics meet, and wouldn't be back until the next morning. That thought eased her a bit, but not much.

"Lacey…" Danny began with her name. He knew he did that often. It was akin to a reflex for him. The feeling of her name in his mouth. Almost as if those were the greatest two syllables to ever exist.

"No, don't do that," Lacey interrupted hurriedly. She suddenly got hit in the face with the full implications of his presence and why he was there. That only brought her back to the last time they had spoke. When they were by the lake and he had dropped another bomb on her and Jo. Where she had ended things. Just recalling that moment returned the feelings that were coursing through her veins while it was unfolding. "Don't say my name the way you do, and expect all of this to go away. It's not going to work. You lied to me Danny."

The hurt and disappointment within her was bubbling up on the sides. She watched him searching for the words he wanted, almost inadequately as his eyes took on a familiar gleam. One of pleading and uncertainty. His brief moments of vulnerability always struck her. Sometimes she had to snap herself out of it.

"I didn't know how to tell you," Danny explained lowly. "I couldn't tell you. After I found the necklace in my locker, I couldn't tell anyone because I knew how it looked."

"So you're sticking with that story?" Lacey quipped back, as she folded her arms against her chest. "You found it in your locker?"

"I did!" Danny sighed, his hands illustrating the importance of his words. "That's the truth, I'm telling you the truth."

Lacey, almost out of nowhere, experienced the most acute sense of déjà vu she'd ever had. Her on her bed and him by her dresser; that had happened before. She remembered being much happier the first time around, and making some flippant remark about Romeo and Juliet. Somehow now, though the analogy still fit, it seems more relevant because of the tragedy of it all.

"Please explain to me how I'm supposed to believe anything that comes out of your mouth?" Lacey questioned, the edge in her voice unmistakable as she searched his eyes.

"Lacey, you've got to believe me…" Danny started, there was a small ounce of frantic energy laced in his vocal chords. She heard it immediately, and it made her defensive. Which wasn't the reaction she had anticipated.

"No," Lacey stated in a rush, cutting him off once again. "I don't have to believe you. Because you can't explain to me how I'm supposed to be able to believe you. After everything we've been through together these past few weeks, you still couldn't tell me. You're a liar and I'm not a fool."

"I'm not trying to make you a fool," Danny responded, he shifted his weight briefly between his two feet. Almost to dispel some of the nervous energy that was traveling through his body. He suddenly wished he would have thought about what he was going to say to her before he got there. "I would never do that to you."

"But you'd lie to me," Lacey exclaimed, her voice hard, as the anger inside of her was mounting. "You'd perpetually lie."

"I don't know what you want me to say," Danny uttered softly as he took a deep breath, and ran his hand over his jaw. He suddenly felt dejected and without an answer that seemed adequate, because she was right. He had lied. How could he explain this to her without actually explaining it? What could he say to her that would elicit her trust, without telling her things that she just couldn't know?

"How about the truth?" Lacey posed emphatically. Her frustration gave way to a sudden urge to get up and walk closer to him, but once her legs touched the side of her bed, with her feet almost on the floor, she changed her mind. "And it's more than just the lie. It's the manner in which you maintained it, and the entire persona you put on in order to carry it out. I mean… God Danny, I held your hand in that police station while you acted as if you didn't know what to think about your mother confessing to a murder that you knew she couldn't have committed! I was being supportive and encouraging, all the while you knew she was innocent because you knew where she got the necklace! You knew and yet you acted like you couldn't believe it! It's more than the lie, it's the ease with which you tell it. Like it's second nature. I'd never be able to tell the difference!"

"There are things I can't tell you!" Danny countered, his voice matching the sudden elevated level of her own. His frustration and discomfort was almost transferring into panic. "Things I can't tell anybody."

Lacey felt the anger ricochet in her body as she tried to get ahold of herself. Everything about their current conversation was jarring and unpleasant but in truth, it was necessary. She contemplated again whether or not she should get up from her bed, her body wasn't distributing her anguish properly. Maybe if she had her feet grounded underneath her, she'd feel more leveled. Or maybe that was all in her mind. She could tell that he was completely losing what little bit of cool he had when the conversation had first started. She wondered if his accidental vulnerability would allow something important to peek through. She was doubtful.

He was this perfectly crafted conundrum.

"Why?" Lacey asked plainly, her voice suddenly losing all its prior force.

"I can't," Danny began softly, as he closed his eyes for a moment. She could see his jaw clench from where she was sitting on the side of her bed. "I can't explain that to you."

"Just like you can't talk about the reason you killed your aunt." Lacey proclaimed easily. It wasn't a question, it was more a statement of fact.

"Why do you want to know about that so badly?" Danny questioned, almost hating himself as soon as the words left his mouth. It seemed lame and the answer was evident. But, it was the only thing that he could think to say. He was faltering.

"Because I want to know you!" Lacey exclaimed with emphasis, her brown eyes were blazing and that force was back, but it was accompanied by something else. Danny couldn't quite distinguish it. But that line and her delivery of it hit him square in the gut. "Because I want to know how the boy I grew up with, the one who would release insects that were caught inside the house back outside, turned into someone who could take a human life. I keep thinking that she must have done something. She must have to make you snap like that, because I knew you! I knew you like the back of my hand. You wouldn't have done that! You just wouldn't have."

"Don't," Danny managed as he tore his eyes from hers, the despair in her voice was almost physically jarring him . "It's my burden not yours. Just don't."

"That's not true," Lacey explained as she took a deep breath, her chest was starting to feel heavy. "It's mine too. Whether you know it or not, whether you tell me the truth or not, I carry the ramifications of that every day."

"I'm sorry it hurts you so much," Danny offered with every drop of sincerity in his body. "If I could somehow go back and not involve you, I would."

"It's a little too late for that." Lacey countered quietly. Her heart hurt and her mind was racing. She was trying to figure out where they even went from here. They were at this critical impasse. No amount of clarity had been shown on him or his motives or his intentions. At all.

She wondered what all of this heartache was for.

Danny watched her silently as both of them continued to digest the fragments of the conversation that they were currently in the midst of. Lacey was trying to wordlessly convince herself to calm down, but it proved to be a futile effort. Before Danny even realized he was moving, he adjusted his posture and started walking towards her bed.

"No," Lacey whispered automatically, her hands raising reflexively to halt him from further encroaching on what little space was still separating them. She couldn't deal with him being any closer in that moment. His mere presence always called to her in a myriad of ways. It was hard to compartmentalize; it was difficult to name this palpable thing. But just his movement reminded her of his warmth, of his physicality, of her reactions to him. She couldn't deal with that and the nature of this conversation they were having. She'd surely crumble, and she couldn't afford that. She never could. "Stay over there."

Danny halted without question or without another word. He took the couple of steps backwards as he retreated to his original spot. He always listened to her with an unbending accuracy. Sometimes she didn't even have to utter a word and he'd know exactly what she meant. Exactly what she needed in any given moment. He read her without even trying to. He knew her without the privilege of what the last five years would have revealed.

"You and I," Danny began methodically. "What's going on between us, has nothing to do with what I can't tell you. It… it has nothing to do with how I feel about you."

"There's nothing going on between us," Lacey lied through her teeth, her eyes leaving his to look out the window. "There isn't because I can't trust you."

"Lace…" Danny all but pleaded, the slight crack in his voice was her undoing. While a part of it melted her to her core, the other part had her off the bed and in front of him within seconds.

"How am I supposed to trust you with anything?" Lacey asked him seriously, her emotions unraveling once more, her own voice wavering as she looked in his eyes. She immediately rethought the distance she had relinquished as the depth of his eyes held her. "With my mind, my time, my...my body, my… with anything ever again? How am I supposed to do that?"

"I would never hurt you," Danny remarked with conviction, as he fought every fiber in his being to not reach out and touch her. Maybe his hands were better at translating meaning than his words were. "Not ever in my life."

"You already are!" Lacey practically shouted, her composure was getting away from her. Her frustration on top of all her other emotions made for a dangerous and combustible combination. "You are by not being truthful."

Danny stayed silent as his eyes watched her. Watched her almost come undone at the seams. It affected him on a very profound level. He usually felt he was in tune with her and vice versa, but in that moment it was as though his feelings were from some deep rooted systemic orientation aligned with her own.

It was as if he was absorbing her emotions on top of his. It was downright consuming.

"Archie told me you were manipulative," Lacey surmised heatedly, studying him as if to try and catch something that would give her every answer to every question she'd ever had about him.

"Are you serious right now, Lacey?" Danny erupted, his quietly bubbling anger surfaced at the mention of that name. "You're really gonna bring him up right now?"

"Yeah, I guess I am." Lacey retorted with as much spite as she could muster.

"Don't do that," Danny exclaimed, his hands coming up in a show of solidarity, even though his anger was still spiraling out from his body. "He has nothing to do with us, don't bring him up just to get a rise out of me."

"Well he has something to do with me," Lacey proclaimed, she was so full of every negative emotion that she was starting to tremble a bit.

"Stop it," Danny ordered, his eyebrows furrowing, as the expressions on his face tried to break free from her words.

"He also said that you told him you and I would never be friends," Lacey accused, as she crossed her arms. "Did you say that?"

"Yeah, I did." Danny admitted, as he broke their eye contact. She was wearing him out.

"Why would you say that?" Lacey questioned with purpose, her hand reaching up to brush a piece of her hair back. She actually sounded hurt, which was interesting, considering he was almost positive she knew what he had meant by that admission.

"I meant that we couldn't be just friends," Danny clarified with great purpose, he almost reached out to her again, but caught himself midway.

"You don't think so?" Lacey questioned almost innocently, some of her venom had been replaced by genuine curiosity.

"No, I don't." Danny countered. "I don't think we'll be able to be just friends ever again. Do you?"

"Who knows," Lacey said rather ambivalently. "Trust is a basic requirement for even friendship."

"I get that you're angry with me," Danny began, his voice cracking. He'd never had such a difficult time getting ahold of his emotions before. His poker face was usually unparalleled, but everything about her got under his skin, beneath his bones, and into his muscles. "I do and I'm sorry."

"Sorry for what?" Lacey questioned with purpose. She was suddenly overcome with the exhaustion of all the emotions that were holding her hostage.

"Everything," Danny sighed. "I'm sorry for not telling you things that you deserve to know. Sorry for being the person that I am."

"Just tell me something true Danny," Lacey begged, she felt absolutely overwhelmed and suddenly she felt her eyes burning, and for a moment she couldn't really believe it was happening. She didn't cry, she couldn't even remember the last time she had actually cried. She always felt everything. Every emotion struck her organically, but she'd bottle each one up and put them on a shelf somewhere inside. Disregard the physical manifestation of the feeling. Tears didn't enter into the equation. She gulped, trying desperately to suppress the inclination.

Danny instantly saw the shift in her and how her eyes began watering, and as if on cue, his heart dropped and he felt his own throat close. The inauspicious precursor to an identical reaction. Danny attempted to blink them away as he continued to look at her. If a person could look hopeful and doubtful at the same time, that's how she looked. That perfectly encompassed her entire state of being in that moment. Danny reached out and gently touched her face with his hand, she angled her face into the warmth of his touch immediately, almost as if there wasn't any other option. He lined her jaw steadily with his fingers as their eyes remained fastened.

"I…" Danny began but trailed off. His voice suddenly escaped him.

"What?" Lacey prodded, coaxing the rest of whatever that sentence entailed. "You what?"

"I love you."

Lacey knew she had heard him properly, she knew there was no questioning what he had just said. And yet she was almost certain that she had imagined it. As if she was experiencing some sort of auditory processing lapse. She felt the expression on her face fall. It seemed that all at once, every emotion she was already experiencing, increased to nonsensical levels.

"Why would you say that?" Lacey exclaimed roughly, as she swatted his hand away from her face. She felt an unfamiliar roaring of each emotion on top of the other. She almost felt like she was suffocating.

"Lace…" Danny was stunned, his face indistinguishable.

"No, what is wrong with you?" Lacey accused, she felt the tears that she had been successfully holding at bay, falling down the front of her face. Her hand lashed out and connected with his chest as she pushed him. He barely moved, his frame was too sturdy. "You can't say things like that to me."

"Lacey, please…" Danny proclaimed, as he tried to calm her. She pushed him again, harder this time, and he actually moved. Something on her dresser fell to the floor. Her tears coupled with her physical unraveling, caused his own tears to surface.

"Why would you say that?!" Lacey repeated with so much animosity and heartache that she almost doubled over. "You can't lie about something like that."

"Lacey stop," Danny instructed as gently as he could, he tried in vain to ignore both of their tears. Her arm went out to strike his chest once more, but he caught it and held it at her side.

"I can't believe you!" Lacey accused, her eyes wet and her face angry. With one last attempt, she used her free hand to continue her assault, but it was in vain as he caught that one too.

"Stop it!" Danny exclaimed as he held her firmly, she persisted beneath his grasp. "Stop fighting us."

"You can't say…" Lacey only got a bit of that sentence out through emotional gasps when suddenly his mouth was on hers.

She had no semblance of time or logic or consequence in that moment, all she knew was that everything shifted, his mouth against hers eased her. It was some sort of ironic divine cruelty. Her mouth responded to his instantly, and almost at once she was the one who had taken over control and pace of the kiss. His hands released her arms and ran down her sides as her arms wrapped quickly around his neck. Their mouths dueled with a keen sense of desperation and longing. As if the culmination of all their emotions and the amount of time sense they had last kissed, met in the middle and took flight.

As if they just ascended into space.

Their bodies melded together, as Lacey deepened the kiss. Their mouths were a glorious mix of lips, tongues, teeth and gasps. Danny could feel the wetness from her tears on his face, but quickly realized it was probably a mix of his as well. His hands moved up to her face as he released her mouth to look into her eyes. To check on her. What he saw in them was a mixture of need and something else he couldn't name. Before he could even catch his breath or ascertain that unknown entity, her mouth sought out his again with great precision. Danny tried to control himself as he thought about how emotionally wrecked they both were. But that was proving to be a futile attempt with the way that she was pressing into him and the way her mouth was working his over. Against his own accord, his body was starting to respond.

Lacey felt like her whole body was reverberating against his. All of a sudden they were moving and they stumbled onto her bed. She landed on top of him as their mouths disconnected and then immediately reconnected, oscillating against one another. Lacey knew what they were doing was crazy. That it was so outside of the realm of everything that she had just said to him, but she couldn't stop. She felt like she physically couldn't stop. Nothing within her would allow her to halt what was impeding. She felt his hands span the length of her back underneath her shirt. His fingers moved along her spine and it made her shudder.

Almost like a classically trained musician playing an instrument. Effortless and without equal.

Danny's hands made their way to her hips, as she repositioned them against his lap. He gripped her hips as he felt her lower body press into his. He let out an obscene sound against her mouth as her hands ran over his neck and arms. They were both quickly losing any amount of control that they pretended to previously have. Before they both got any deeper in the abyss that was each other, Danny pulled his mouth from hers.

"Shit, Lacey," Danny breathed, his eyes delirious and stunned. He wanted her so bad that he couldn't see straight. But he didn't want her to feel any guilt or regret tied to these actions. "Should we…"

Lacey looked down at him and searched his face, and right before she shut him up with her mouth once more, she was suddenly struck with how this wouldn't solve anything. Her better judgment told her that them being like this, that them doing this, would only confound their situation further. They already couldn't navigate the waters of one another in a rational manner. She knew it would feel good, that it would feel really good. But it wouldn't drag them from the depths of their prior conversation. If anything, afterwards they would be right back there. With her jilted and upset about what she didn't know, and him not being able to divulge certain things. She knew it was better if they didn't, they had both been emotional wrecks not even five minutes before. She could still taste the salt from both of their tears.

"No, no we shouldn't," Lacey breathed, as she dropped her head and tried to conjure up the strength to complete disengage him. A tough battle waged on inside of her as she tried to mentally encapsulate the way that every inch of his body felt against hers.

As swiftly and as gingerly as she could, she got up, being especially mindful to not cause any further damage. She felt the touch of his hands graze then leave her as she walked over to her dresser and tried every worthless option to calm herself down. To calm her body, her mind and her emotions down. Danny put both of his hands over his face as he took three of the deepest breaths he'd probably ever taken in his life. When he looked up, he saw her where he had previously been, in front of her dresser. A look of doubt and basic disbelief lined her face.

"I'm sorry," Lacey offered softly, she wouldn't even look at him.

"Don't apologize," Danny countered, as he leaned up on his elbows. She looked at him briefly just then, which proved to be a bad idea. The rattling image of him sprawled out on her bed was too much for her to take, so she quickly diverted her eyes to her hands in front of her. She suddenly wished they weren't in her room, not just because of the bed, but because at least then she could have just left. Them being there rid her of one of her best defense mechanisms: walking away.

"God, we're a disaster," Lacey mumbled softly, as she studied her hands and the pattern of the carpet under her feet. She said that more to herself than to him, but he heard her. He didn't say anything as he watched her in silence. Her loose curls were framing her face haphazardly, the lashes of her downcast eyes were full and long, her nose had the most perfect slope, the faint outline of the dimple on the side of her face shifted slightly as she moved her jaw, and her lower lip separated from her top one just barely. She had a rather vulnerable contemplative look on her face now. She was so gorgeous it made him ache. It made him want to tell her just how gorgeous out loud, right then. It made him want to take out his phone and take a picture. It made him want to help build a monument in her honor.

But why? Because he knew it wouldn't ever compare to the real thing.

Danny eased himself off the bed slowly. Lacey's eyes shot up to him when she noticed that he was moving. She didn't say anything as he approached her gingerly, she watched him carefully. Once he got within a foot of her, his arms outstretched, she closed her eyes and sighed as she leaned into his embrace, wrapping her arms around his neck. She hadn't even realized that she had been holding her breath as he was approaching. But a wordless hug was everything that she needed and more. Even if the comfort came from the one person who she had every doubt and question and reservation about. He was also the person who had grown to mean so much to her, so much more than he ever had before, in a short amount of time.

Danny's arms hooked around her waist as he held her tightly. Hoping this nonverbal display would illustrate just how much she meant to him and how much their relationship was an axis by which he gauged himself. He briefly remembered his declaration of love from earlier. He knew now that maybe he shouldn't have said it, but he also knew without a doubt that he had meant it. He did love her. He loved her plainly and without excuse.

Even if he wasn't in love with her just yet. He'd be damned if he wasn't on his way.

Lacey inhaled his scent as she held onto him tightly. The innocence of the embrace struck her, especially considering the polar opposite exchange that had just taking place on her bed. The juxtaposition was both staggering and comforting. That they could transition into certain facets of their relationship depending on what the situation called for. It warmed her heart yet made her sad, because he was right. They would never be able to be just friends again, even if they tried really hard. So where did that leave them? She was too scared to even contemplate that at length. She was the one to release her hold on him first, her hands sliding down past his shoulders and onto his chest. He pulled back and looked at her, his eyes unquestioning and warm.

"I, uh… I think it's better if you go back over there," Lacey suggested softly, as she nudged him a bit, motioning over to her bed. She couldn't really handle a repeat of earlier, and if they were within too close of a proximity for an extended period of time, all bets were off. She wouldn't make it out of another unrelenting physical encounter with him. Not tonight.

Danny nodded and gave her a small smile before going back to his prior place on her bed. He understood perfectly without further explanation. He knew exactly why she had suggested that and he couldn't say that she was wrong or misguided, she was probably one hundred percent accurate with that particular precaution. Danny watched her carefully in silence as he waited for whatever it was that she was going to say.

"Sometimes I feel like there's a tethered rope connecting you and I," Lacey began slowly, she seemed like she was trying to pick each word as carefully as possible. "And I've tried to cut it. I've used everything. Scissors, a knife, a piece of glass. And pieces will fray, but nothing ever cuts it completely. Nothing cuts the rope."

Danny watched her quietly, not saying a word. He just let her say what was on her mind.

"You pull me like a magnet," Lacey sighed, almost like she was frustrated and fed up, but that saying it out loud at least gave her the power of admission.

"I feel the same way about you," Danny responded sincerely. She heard it in his voice and she believed him. She didn't know why but she did.

"It's not normal Danny," Lacey continued, feeling overwhelmed again, but to a much lesser degree than she had earlier. "It's not healthy."

"Why do you say that?" Danny questioned eagerly. He wanted to know all the corners of her mind without exception, but the ones that included him were especially fascinating.

"Because trust is a major component of any healthy functioning relationship," Lacey explained simply. "And what kind of person am I that I spout all of that off to you, but ten minutes later we can't keep our hands off of one another?"

"This isn't purely physical," Danny countered firmly, his eyes holding hers for good measure. "Don't infer that it is, you know better."

In that moment she was hit by the reality of what he had said earlier. Those important and special three words. As much as she believed that he had uttered them purely as a manipulation tactic, she couldn't be too sure. The more she thought about it, the less convinced she was. She was almost positive that they weren't at that current juncture yet, but wherever they were, it felt awfully close to something that resembled it. Or maybe she was in too deep to see straight. She didn't know anymore half the time. She was also fairly certain she didn't want to have that particular conversation, so she didn't bring it up.

"I won't be like my mother," Lacey mumbled, more to herself than to him.

He heard her and immediately caught the implication. Her mother had been lied to by her father for the entire duration of Lacey's life, and those wounds were still fresh. The truth wasn't just a basic standard for her, it was essential.

"I try to stay away from you and it doesn't work," Lacey proclaimed, her arms illustrating her internal struggle. "Even when I'm not around you, you pop up. You're even in my dreams!"

"What am I doing in your dreams?" Danny questioned, his eyes unwavering as they held hers. Hearing that made his heart leap, it was as if they were on the same wavelength.

"The same thing you're doing right now," Lacey breathed, feeling like maybe she should break their eye contact, but feeling like she was simply unable to. "You looking at me. Me looking at you. That's it, that's the whole dream. But it feels like it lasts forever. And when I wake up, it's like I can't breathe, and I just want to hear your voice."

"I dream about you too," Danny admitted, as he took a deep breath.

"What are your dreams like?" Lacey inquired gently, her mouth upturned in a slight curious smile.

"They're always one of two things," Danny explained. His eyes never left her. "You walking away from me, or us holding each other."

"Do you ever go after me when I walk away?" Lacey asked, when she finally found her voice to speak.

"Sometimes," Danny admitted with a slight nod of his head.

The silence settled again, for the uptenth time that night and they let it for a few moments. They both had a penchant for how even the silence sounded in one another's presence. Finally after a few moments Lacey broke it, deciding that she'd make one last ditch effort in favor of the truth and whatever it held.

"Tell me something true," Lacey whispered, as her eyes scanned his face.

Danny dropped his head briefly, what was on the tip of his tongue was so risky. It was so uncertain what she would do or say if he revealed it. But everything was screaming inside of him to just tell her. She deserved that much, didn't she?

"I think my dad's alive," Danny let out plainly, almost as if he was telling her what time it was or what the weather would be like tomorrow.

Lacey felt her eyes widen and her jaw drop slightly as his words and the meaning behind them resonated. After her mind slowed down to a dull bellow, she realized that there it was: something true.


End file.
